In one aspect, this invention relates to the isomerization of alkanes and/or cycloalkanes. In another aspect, this invention relates to the preparation of materials which are effective catalysts for isomerizing alkanes and/or cycloalkanes.
The use of combinations of aluminum halide (in particular AlCl.sub.3) and certain metal chlorides and sulfates (in particular CuCl.sub.2 or CuSO.sub.4) for alkane isomerization is known and has been described in various scientific articles. The present invention is directed to modifying these catalysts and, thus, improving their catalytic activity and/or selectivity.